Review: Melissa Errico's A NOIR ROMANCE Is A Perfectly Dark Valentine's Treat at Birdland Jazz Club

Melissa Errico is starting a cult of the noir, and she wants you to join! In her latest cabaret venture, Melissa continues her love affair with the music of film noir at the historic venue Birdland. Titled A Noir Romance, Melissa takes us down the YouTube rabbit hole of film noir that captivated her during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, leading to her instant classic 2022 album, Out Of The Dark-The Film Noir Project. This latest exploration into the world of darkness, passion, and mystery is a triumph of love and puts on full display the reasons why Melissa is one of the great musical interpreters of our time. Singing numbers from her album alongside some new surprises, there is something to keep you coming back to every performance for the rest of this nine-show run.

From her dress to her hair to her vowel formations, Melissa arrives on stage, every single bit the noir chanteuse character; perfectly draped black sequins to rival Claire Trevor's iconic stripes and a bevy of cascading curls that would send Gilda to the hairdresser faster than you can say "me?" And then she opens her mouth, pouring out lush, complex melodies accompanied by a virtuosic five-piece band. Melissa has devoted much time to learning everything she can about this art form (as befits a Yale grad) and all those hours online, watching and listening, have led to exactly this moment. She is the consummate 2023 femme (somewhat) fatale, and all those hours of research and practice fall away on stage to create another stunning Melissa Errico cabaret offering.

Backed by music director Tedd Firth tickling the ivories, Eric Halvorsen heavily utilizing the brush on drums, David Finck providing the iconic noir bass, and Russ Malone and David Mann sharing some of the most exciting guitar and saxophone solos out there, respectively, Melissa explores the boundaries of what actually constitutes noir music and what actually makes a femme fatale. Now, she knows what the actual definition is, of course, and she'll put on her iconic glasses to educate you. But what is it that makes "The Man That Got Away" noir when "Dancing in the Dark" misses the mark? Well, you'll just have to ask. Bouncing across decades, from the 1930s right up to now, Melissa puts on a delightful, light transatlantic accent while speaking about how the world of noir mirrors a path that we may find ourselves on; a path that takes us through the darkness before we can find the light.

Though not unmarred by opening night jitters (a lost press on nail here, a poetically apt dropped lyric there), this Friday night's performance of A Noir Romance demonstrated once more why Melissa is unparalleled when it comes to creating art on a nightclub stage. I won't give everything away (because you should experience it for yourself!), but Melissa pays homage to one of her most famous collaborators with Michel Legrand's "Amour, Amour." This intricate melody, originally created for the 1970 film Peau d'Ane (Literally translated Donkey Skin, look it up, it's a wild film) seems to come to Melissa's swooning mix as easily as breathing, but she acknowledges the work that goes into making something look that easy. Swiftly transitioning between songs like "On Vit, On Aime" by Adam Gopnik and the late Peter Foley, "The Bad and the Beautiful" by iconic female noir songwriter Dory Langdon Previn and David Raksin, and "The Gentleman is a Dope" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Melissa's peerless vocal mix is as noir as a glass of pinot. So do yourself a favor this Valentine's Day, and get thee to Birdland. A Noir Romance is the most perfect nod to a very specific kind of love, and, no matter your relationship with noir, you will fall in love. And what more could you want than that?

A Noir Romance plays Birdland through Valentine's Day at different times each night. Get all the information and reservations on the Birdland website HERE.

Visit the Melissa Errico website HERE.

Read the Broadway World review of the album Out of the Dark: The Film Noir Project HERE.

Read Melissa Errico's interview with Broadway World Cabaret about A Noir Romance HERE.

Photo Credit: Catherine Hancock